Loss of coordination in leg - Official runner's dystonia / focal dystonia discussion thread

Hey guys, I have read about 10 pages of this thread and I really appreciate all the information on here. It's hard for me to take it all in because it seems not everyone's problems are exactly the same, so if someone could lend some advice/information to me on my specific issue, that would be great.

It started in February 2010 I believe at the end of a 5 mile tempo run. It was closer to race pace than tempo pace, however. I BELIEVE it was my left leg and always has been. Anyhow about 3.5-4 miles in from my left knee down started to lose control very quickly. I was forced to slow down and couldn't really move my left leg and I couldn't even push off to be honest. I got in and didn't really have any issues during the season.

The second time was that summer and I think it was around 6 miles into a 9 mile tempo/race. The leg shut down for awhile but I slowed dramatically and I regained most of the function back.

Then December 2011 my left leg again (knee down) shut down during a tempo on a cinder track. I was only getting back into shape so it was probably only 6min pace and I was maybe 4.5 miles into a 5 mile tempo but I finished. My leg was flopping all around and I just had to finish because I needed to work out. Anyhow I got back to my high school and my trainer said my hips were out of alignment, and she fixed them. From there on out that training season through this spring I didn't really have to many long sustained efforts so I never had an issue. Ran in the 9:30 area for 3200 as a Junior.

Then yesterday I was doing a 4.8 mile hard run (95-98% effort) and it came on very very hard near the end. I went out in about 5:14 and came through 2.4 in 12:58... ended up 26:11 but from about the 4 mile mark my leg started to shut down. Oddly enough my pace hardly suffered but even the last 30 meters I almost walked in because I had nearly no control over my left leg. I finished and felt my skin, and the feeling I got was similar to the feeling you might get when you ice for too long and touching something to your skin doesn't cause you to feel much. So my skin had lost sensitivity. I really, really had no control and about 150m out I had to go over a curb and I very nearly clipped it and face planted because my leg was so out of whack.

Now it has happened probably 2 more times than I have listed here but I can't remember exactly. I'm 17 and heading into my cross country season... just finished an 80 mile week today. Today was the only time when I felt side effects of this thing in my leg the day after it happened. It was an easy day but when I was on pavement or pushing the pace I could tell that my leg was very tired and getting to that point.

I can get my hips realigned again soon because I know a Physical Therapist. Does anybody here think that's the problem? From November 2011 to May 2012 I did core 3x a week and one of the exercises was called the 'fire-hydrant' because it imitated a dog peeing on the hydrant. You go on all fours and lift up your leg like you're gonna pee on a hydrant... 30 times for each leg. And during that time I never had any issues but I never had long sustained efforts either. I can think of many times since the start of this where I have had very hard efforts (8 at 5:40, other long tempos, countless 5K's and 3200s)when this hasn't happened (granted it usually takes at least 4 miles to start).

I doubt this is cause for concern but any advice would be appreciated. I am mostly concerned that it will be an issue when I go to college and am racing 8K/10K.

To be a little more specific about the issue... I can feel it coming on and within a few hundred meters my left leg from knee down has nearly no control and my right leg pretty much does all the work... the left calf pretty much flops around like a dead fish.

Extra info-

120lbs

5'7"

17yrs

70 miles a week

9:30-9:35 3200

any response would be greatly appreciated

maybe you guys ice your legs too many times causing damage

just a bump for this

I'm so happy to have come across this thread! Like many of you, I experience this same sensation of loss of coordination, but am not sure if this is more foot or back/hip/sacrum related. If anyone can help me out/give some suggestions for this issue I've been having for the past year+, I will be very grateful!

I'm currently about to enter my junior year of college at a D1 university. I was a very competitive runner in high school, and never experienced any type of injuries/setbacks in training.

My freshman year of college (2010-2011), I realized how much of a heel-striker I was, and attempted to make some slight changes to my form that I think spurred the beginning of my problems (mainly by wearing lighter shoes with less support--something I was not used to doing). In the winter of 2011, I noticed some pain and swelling in the ball of my left foot, due to excessive pronation on this side. After taking a few weeks off the pain subsided, but to this day the whole ball/bone of my left foot remains enlarged, which causes me to sort of roll to the outside of my foot when running. This is only my left foot--the right foot is stable and strikes the ground evenly. This instability and inability to fully push off the ground in my left foot seems to cause my left hamstring/butt to "lock up" or cramp after about 10-15 minutes of hard running. This ONLY happens whenever I am running fast, as I can make it through normal training runs completely pain-free. But obviously, this has impacted many of my races, forcing me to drop out or essentially "limp" the rest of the way to the finish line--a problem many others seem to have!

I have seen many doctors regarding this issue. I have had custom orthodics made for me but they have not helped this cramping of my leg whatsoever. I have had my running form analyzed by a sports doctor, with the conclusion being that I strike the ground differently with my feet, and this can be fixed if I strengthen my feet and run in 5-fingers. However, this has not seemed to help either. I have had tons of sports massages/active release therapy/and various other treatments on the muscles in my left leg, and believe this is a FUNCTIONAL/biomechanical problem with my running--no matter how much I can relax/ice/massage/etc. my leg muscles, this pain keeps coming back due to the way I run and strike the ground with my left foot.

I'm stumped on what to do. I am currently running easy mileage gearing up for XC this fall, but know that once I start doing progression runs and faster-type stuff, this pain will creep back...

CUXC it is likely your problem stems from your foot. Any idea as to why it is still inflamed and enlarged?

New handle, I would look into nerve/low back type causes. A numbness or loss of sensation in the skin is a classic (and troubling) sign of a pinched nerve, herniated disc, or some other nerve problem. See a sports orthopedist and explain your situation; he will probably do some leg lifting tests and get an x-ray or preferably an MRI of your lower back and pelvis. If that's clean you might think about going to a neurologist for a nerve conduction study, though for what it's worth several people in this thread have done that and have come back clean too. Granted, they did not have the sensation loss on their skin though. At the very least, it sounds like you have a "mild" case that only flares up on long continuous runs, but it is good to look into these things before they become an issue in college, when 8k/10k training will require a lot of long continuous stuff.

new to this thread, new handle wrote:

any response would be greatly appreciated

just a bump for this[/quote]

Get your hips realigned again and see if the problem goes away. If not look into it more seriously with the medical profession. What you and so many others are describing is to me a combination of imbalance and overtraining. Remove the imbalance and the overtraining issues will disappear.

Has anyone that got labral tear surgery started running again yet?

I am seeing a surgeon this week and want to know if the surgery solved anyone's problems.

Hopingtoimprove wrote:

maybe you guys ice your legs too many times causing damage

That is a possibility.

is this tread made by the same person with schizophrenia?

I tested negative for a labral tear with an MR-Arthrogram with dye, only abnormal finding a slight bump on my femoral head.

EVERYONE LOOK UP FOCAL DYSTONIA

I think this is our answer

I had surgery last summer for a labral tear, no FAI. That surgery went well. I could run slowly within weeks and ran 8 miles within 2 months. I didn't get over 8 miles until I had a cortizone shot at about the year post surgery mark. That seems to have got rid of the tightness and inflammation. As a long time runner with mutliple imbalances that have yet to be corrected (some of them are structural so they never will), I can run but not smoothly. I am now in sympathy with the runners on the "trashed legs" thread. My legs seemed to have died in the year long wait for surgery and the year of recovery.

"kang6789:

Has anyone that got labral tear surgery started running again yet?

I am seeing a surgeon this week and want to know if the surgery solved anyone's problems."

Focal dystonia is different. It's uncontrollable contraction.

Lower limb dystonia is a focal dystonia that may primarily affect the ankle and foot, often resulting in inward turning of the heel with upward bending of the sole of the foot. The dystonic spasms initially occur only with walking (action dystonia). However, the dystonia may gradually be present at rest and eventually lead to sustained, fixed postures. Lower LD that appears during childhood is usually associated with the onset of generalized dystonia. However, lower LD that initially becomes evident during adulthood is rare. In such cases, experts indicate that diagnostic evaluations should be conducted to determine whether lower limb dystonia is present secondary to Parkinson's disease, parkinsonism syndromes, or other underlying causes.

Contraction isn't the problem.

Those of you who are the feeling the weird sensation in your leg. like maybe a weakness or nerve damage. STRETCH YOUR HAMSTRINGS. I read through this entire thread and saw someone say it. My left one (the one with the sensation) was so much tighter so i started stretching it. Stretch both actually. But after stretching 3-4 times a day for a couple days i was feeling good. Not 100 percent healthy but a hell of a lot better than i was.

Anyone here have a nerve block injection? Just had one into the L4 nerve root on Monday. They say it could take a few days to take effect, but wanted to see if anyone else has had one.

Updates on those with labral tear surgery?

This thread is weird and frightening

I have taken the last couple weeks to read the entirety of this thread. I have these same symptoms in my left calf. I have had numerous issues with my hamstrings being tight and having tendonitis, so perhaps I have it in my hamstring as well, but can't differentiate. I am discouraged by so many having this for years. I've had it a year off and on.

Like so many, it's better on soft trails & worse on pavement and the treadmill. I have the inability to pull my leg forward and if I concentrate on doing so and planting my foot correctly, I get "zaps" in my calf muscle of an impending calf cramp. My PT thinks it is stemming from my back - a nerve. However, I had an unremarkable back MRI. I had negative compartment syndrome testing as well. I have normal electrolyte labs. I am seeing a vascular surgeon next at the referral of my orthopaedic surgeon to rule out/look for a vascular issue such as popliteal artery entrapment.

For now, I suppose I will continue strengthening my glutes & hamstrings & stretching each. This really is frustrating and I can't even pinpoint the day it came on, as it was so long ago and I attributed it to shoes for a month or so.

Woo hoo 1000!

High hamstring tendinopathy. It can irritate the sciatic nerve.